Saturday, January 14, 2012

[OOC] Angels Are Not Always From Heaven

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This is the auto-generated OOC topic for the roleplay "Angels Are Not Always From Heaven"

Hello! This is my first RP so it is a little sloppy.

There's one they fear most. In Their tounge, it's "Dovakhin".Dragonborn! FUS ROH DAAH!!

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Top 5 2011 Florida State moments: No. 1 ? Beating the rivals

Florida State senior linebacker Nigel Bradham hoists a prop "gator head" above his own head Nov. 26 following the Seminoles' 21-7 win over rival Florida in Gainesville. In a year when FSU was expected to do much more, the state championship was its most memorable moment. (Gary W. Green/Orlando Sentinel)

Now that the 2011 season is officially over for the Florida State football program, we can begin to look back at the year that was and pull from it what we can. There are so many reasons, so many factors that went into play to lead the Seminoles to their mostly unexpected 9-4 mark, absence from the ACC Championship and appearance in a non-BCS bowl.

On the flip side, there are also factors that led to the year being as strong as it was. A come-from-behind Champs Sports Bowl win over a tough Notre Dame program and a close, late-game win over rival Miami almost didn?t exist. Had both ended in losses, the Seminoles would have finished at 7-6 and answering even more questions than they are right now.

As is often the case, from year-to-year, there are always singular plays or groups of plays that can certainly change a season for better or worse. There often are those individual moments that can make a year live triumphantly on, or that can make it remembered for far greater, more melancholy reasons. For the Seminoles, 2011 likely won?t be a year that gets written as legend; it won?t go down in the record books next to ?93 and ?99. But successful season or not, like any other season, there were moments in 2011 that made it stand out more than any other year in Tallahassee.

In the last few days on the Chopping Block, we?ve been taking a look at the top 5 moments from the FSU season. Feel free to chime in with your thoughts or make your own lists. Today, we top it off with No. 1 ? beating the rivals.

No. 1 ? Beating the rivals

We?ll keep this one pretty brief.

In a year that was defined more by what FSU didn?t have ? i.e. key players lost due to injury, actual losses themselves, a lost top-5 ranking, etc ? ? there was probably no moment in which more joy was experienced by the Seminoles than in the early-night hours of Nov. 26.

After losing four games and failing to accomplish their chief goal, receiving an ACC Championship game berth, the Seminoles were left to secure one final objective. They wanted to win the state championship.

For the uniformed, the ?state championship? refers to years when the Seminoles play any Florida universities, but most specifically when they play their biggest rivals, in-state foes Miami and Florida. FSU won the state championship in 2010, and was looking to solidify the mark for a second-straight year.

Winning 21-7, they did just that.

FSU's defense hounded Miami quarterback Jacory Harris all of the Hurricanes' game against the Seminoles. With the 23-19 win over Miami and a 21-7 victory over Florida later in the year, the Seminoles earned the coveted "state championship" for a second straight year. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)

Two weeks after holding on to beat Miami in the final game of a five-game winning streak, the Seminoles traveled to Gainesville to finish the state championship deal.

With little to lose, the defense played its best game.

Florida?s rushing game was stifled. The Gators only advanced the ball 54 yards on a whopping 33 team carries.

The passing game fared no better. Gators quarterbacks John Brantley and Jacoby Brissett combined to throw four interceptions, including two that were picked off by Seminoles cornerback Greg Reid. One resulted in an early FSU score. A third interception caught by senior cornerback Mike Harris and returned 89 yards to near the Seminoles? goal line, led to another touchdown. FSU?s final touchdown came in the second half, when senior safety Terrance Parks jumped in front of a Brissett pass and sprinted in for the 29-yard score.

Up front, the Seminoles? defensive line out-pushed and out-maneuvered the Gators? offensive line to pick up two sacks and a slew of quarterback hurries. One of the hits Brantley took at the end of the second quarter was enough to run him from the game with a concussion. The player who incidentally hit him with his own helmet, defensive end Brandon Jenkins, also had concussion-like symptoms following the play.

The head blows were a story line in the game. Multiple players on each side left the game with concussion-like symptoms, others left with other big injuries. As rivalry games typically are, this one was indeed a physical contest.

Against the rival Hurricanes two weeks earlier, the Seminoles banged around with another strong, but occasionally porous offensive line. After using several key special teams plays ? a 66-yard punt by punter Shawn Powell, an 83-yard Greg Reid punt return for touchdown, another Powell punt that landed right on the Miami 1-yard line, a game-ending onsides kick catch by true freshman Nick O?Leary ? the Seminoles held on for a 23-19 home win.

They knew it was just the first half of the state championship, but at that time, the conference race was technically more important. With a distant, outside chance at still earning a conference championship game berth with a win against Virginia the following week, the Seminoles were still preoccupied with the ACC.

But a Clemson game-winning field goal over Wake Forest just before the FSU-Virginia kickoff effectively iced the Seminoles? ACC title hopes. At that point, it was all about beating the Cavaliers and getting to eight wins ahead of the final half of the state title race against the SEC?s Gators.

That win over the Cavs wouldn?t happen. A lack of offensive punch by the Seminoles, combined by a missed game-winning field goal attempt by FSU kicker Dustin Hopkins, and they fell, 14-13.

So, during a year that fell below expectations, if there was one memory ? outside of the Champs Sports Bowl win over Notre Dame ? that the Seminoles will surely cherish from the 2011 campaign, it?s the memory of beating their bitter rivals.

Source: http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_college_fsu/2012/01/top-5-2011-florida-state-moments-no-1-beating-the-rivals.html

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Friday, January 13, 2012

Five Best Goal Tracking Services [Hive Five]

Five Best Goal Tracking Services Whether you've made some resolutions for the new year or you're just looking for a tool that can help reinforce your commitment to making some positive changes in your life, the web is full of apps, tools, and web services designed to remind you that you're supposed to do something good for yourself, connect you with other people facing the same challenge, and provide encouragement. Here are five of the best of those services, based on your nominations.

Earlier in the week, we asked you which services you used to track your goals and monitor your progress towards them. You responded with more suggestions than we could possibly cover in one story, but we tallied the nominations and here are the top five.

Photo by Julie Jordan Scott.

Five Best Goal Tracking Services

Lifetick

Lifetick is one of the most robust and feature-rich goal-tracking webapps we've seen. The service is full of features that make it easy to add and track multiple goals, build plans and steps for each one, and then look back on your progress over time to see how well you're doing on the way there, complete with graphs and reports that quantify your experiences. You can filter your goals based on the part of your life you want to work on, and review your progress in each individual area. Lifetick is free if you're tracking up to 4 goals, but if you want to add more or make use of the service's journaling features, you'll have to pay $20/year for a subscription.


Five Best Goal Tracking Services

Mindbloom Life Game

The Mindbloom Life Game is not only fun, but it's a great way to prioritize the things that are important to you and make concrete strides towards improving those areas of your life. We've covered Mindbloom before, and the service has grown since then to offer more suggestions, roll in more social features to help you collaborate on your goals and share your progress with friends, and even an iPhone app to help you stay inspired and committed to your goals when you're away from your computer. The game rolls in rewards and incentives for working towards your goals, and while the goals aren't completely user-defined, they're all good improvements to make in your life. Plus, it's completely free.


Five Best Goal Tracking Services

Goalscape

Goalscape is up there with Lifetick when it comes to the number of features and reporting options it offers. The service arranges your goals in a large set of concentric "wheels," organized by type and with the relative importance of each goal indicated by how large a slice of the wheel it represents. You can easily see at all times which goals are bigger than the others, and you can separate them out by category to see how you're doing with each one. The service offers templates you can use to get started quickly, and reporting your progress is easy. You can download an AIR app for Mac OS or Windows, use the webapp to keep track of your goals, or take Goalscape on the go with its iPhone app. Goalscape is pricey though: it offers a 14-day free trial, but after that you'll need to cough up either $114 for the AIR app (which includes 6 months of access to the webapp, after which you'll have to pay again if you want to use the webapp), $114 for a 12-month subscription to the webapp alone, or $63 for a 6-month subscription to the webapp alone.


Five Best Goal Tracking Services

Milestone Planner

Milestone Planner is less oriented towards individuals looking to accomplish their personal goals as it is designed to help groups and individuals work on projects and tasks, but the tool is one of your favorites for both purposes. The drag-and-drop interface works well for organizing tasks, you can easily run a report to see when items are due and what's set to finish when, as well as your overall progress towards those milestones. If you have a goal with incremental steps?and your goals should definitely have measurable steps you can take along the way?Milestone Planner can remind you when to check on those steps, and how far you have to go. If you're organizing goals for a group, you can assign tasks and milestones to others, and get reports on how they're doing as well. The service has free "guest version," which limits you to 3 plans and is ad-supported, but for more plans and milestones you'll need to pay $14/month for the Pro Version, or ask for a quote for their enterprise suites.


Five Best Goal Tracking Services

Joe's Goals

Joe's Goals isn't terribly robust or full of flash and flare, but it's simple, easy to use, and earns more than a few points for being simple and to the point. Add your goals and the things you want to do regularly to a calendar, and then check off whether your met or missed your goal each day. The service was built by?predictably?Joe, who wanted a way to easily keep track of how often he worked out, but also how frequently he slipped up and ordered takeout, so he built a webapp to help him out. Joe's Goals works jsut as well with "positive" goals, like things you want to do, as it does with "negative" goals, or things you want to stop doing. You'll always be able to tell at a glance how well you're progressing, and you can add more than one check for days where you went the extra mile. Simple, effective, easy, and free.


Now that you've seen the top five, it's time to vote for the winner.

Honorable mentions this week go out to 43 Things, a service we love and one of the first web services to define this category, but surprinsgly was just shy of the nominations needed to make the top five. Also worth noting is the currently-in-beta Aherk!, which blackmails you into working towards your goals by threatening to post an embarrassing photo to Facebook for you if you don't.

Have something to say about one of the contenders? Miss the call for contenders thread and want to plead the case for your favorite? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/Qi9zU2wgDgQ/five-best-goal-tracking-services

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Iran leader defends nuclear program on LatAm trip

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, left, and Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad hold hands during a welcoming ceremony at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday Jan. 9, 2012. Ahmadinejad visited with Chavez as tensions rose with the U.S. over Tehran's nuclear program and a death sentence against an American man convicted of working for the CIA. Venezuela is the first leg of a four-nation tour that will also take Ahmadinejad to Nicaragua, Cuba and Ecuador. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, left, and Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad hold hands during a welcoming ceremony at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday Jan. 9, 2012. Ahmadinejad visited with Chavez as tensions rose with the U.S. over Tehran's nuclear program and a death sentence against an American man convicted of working for the CIA. Venezuela is the first leg of a four-nation tour that will also take Ahmadinejad to Nicaragua, Cuba and Ecuador. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, left, shares a laugh with Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez upon his arrival at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, Jan. 9, 2012. Ahmadinejad visited with Chavez as tensions rose with the U.S. over Tehran's nuclear program and a death sentence against an American man convicted of working for the CIA. Venezuela is the first leg of a four-nation tour that will also take Ahmadinejad to Nicaragua, Cuba and Ecuador. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, left, and Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez hold hands after the Iranian leader's arrival to Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday Jan. 9, 2012. Ahmadinejad visited with Chavez as tensions rose with the U.S. over Tehran's nuclear program and a death sentence against an American man convicted of working for the CIA. Venezuela is the first leg of a four-nation tour that will also take Ahmadinejad to Nicaragua, Cuba and Ecuador. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gestures during a ceremony to sign agreements at Miraflores presidential palace, back dropped by a painting of Venezuela's independence hero Simon Bolivar in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, Jan. 9, 2012. Ahmadinejad visited with Chavez as tensions rose with the U.S. over Tehran's nuclear program and a death sentence against an American man convicted of working for the CIA. Venezuela is the first leg of a four-nation tour that will also take Ahmadinejad to Nicaragua, Cuba and Ecuador. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, left, listens as Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez delivers a speech upon the Iranian leader's arrival to Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday Jan. 9, 2012. Ahmadinejad visited with Chavez as tensions rose with the U.S. over Tehran's nuclear program and a death sentence against an American man convicted of working for the CIA. Venezuela is the first leg of a four-nation tour that will also take Ahmadinejad to Nicaragua, Cuba and Ecuador. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

(AP) ? Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad defended his country's nuclear program as he began a four-nation tour of Latin America, joining his ally Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in accusing the U.S. and its allies of using the dispute to unjustly threaten Iran.

Both leaders dismissed U.S. concerns about Iran's intentions in the Middle East and its growing diplomatic ties with Chavez and his allies in Latin America.

"They accuse us of being warmongers," Chavez said. "They're the threat."

Both leaders planned to travel to Nicaragua on Tuesday for the inauguration of newly re-elected President Daniel Ortega, and then Ahmadinejad will also visit Cuba and Ecuador.

The Iranian leader is using the visit to tout relationships with some of his close friends shortly after the U.S. imposed tougher sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program.

Washington and other governments believe Iran is using the nuclear program to develop atomic weapons. Chavez and his allies back Iran in arguing the program is purely for peaceful purposes.

Chavez accused the U.S. and its European allies of demonizing Iran and using false claims about the nuclear issue "like they used the excuse of weapons of mass destruction to do what they did in Iraq."

Ahmadinejad dismissed the accusations about Iran's nuclear program in general terms.

"They say we're making (a) bomb," the Iranian leader said through an interpreter. "Fortunately, the majority of Latin American countries are alert. Everyone knows that those words ... are a joke. It's something to laugh at."

"It's clear they're afraid of our development," Ahmadinejad said.

Adding to the U.S.-Iran tensions, Iranian state radio reported Monday that a court in Iran convicted dual U.S.-Iranian citizen Amir Mirzaei Hekmati of working for the CIA and sentenced the former Marine to death. Neither Chavez nor Ahmadinejad referred to the case.

They joked that their relationship shouldn't cause any concern. Ahmadinejad said if they were together building anything like a bomb, "the fuel of that bomb is love." Chavez played on the same theme, saying Iran has been helping manufacture an "atomic bicycle" at a plant in the country.

The Venezuelan leader said Iran's assistance has helped his country build 14,000 homes as well as factories that produce food, tractors and vehicles. Government officials signed two agreements promoting industrial cooperation and worker training.

Chavez said both Venezuela and Iran are peaceful countries that weather a battery of suspicion and accusations by critics.

"When we devils get together ... it's like they go crazy," Chavez said.

Laughing, Chavez said Ahmadinejad is traveling through "the axis of evil of Latin America."

Iran finds itself under increasing pressure in the standoff over its nuclear program, and in response to the latest U.S. sanctions has threatened to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, an important transit route for oil tanker shipments.

The U.N. nuclear agency on Monday confirmed that Iran has begun enriching uranium at an underground bunker to a level that can be upgraded more quickly for use in a nuclear weapon than the nation's main enriched stockpile. That development has increased fears among U.S. and European officials about Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Beyond voicing criticism of the U.S. on his tour, Ahmadinejad is also likely to look for ways to use his Latin American alliances to diminish the impact of sanctions on Iran's oil industry, said Diego Moya-Ocampos, an analyst with consulting firm IHS Global Insight in London.

However, Moya-Ocampos predicted that "Venezuela is going to be very careful not to push its relationship with Iran beyond the U.S. tolerance limits," so as not to risk being hit with more U.S. sanctions.

Last year, the U.S. imposed sanctions on state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA for delivering at least two cargoes of oil products to Iran.

Venezuelan Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez told reporters the government had not made any oil-related agreements with Iran.

Asked about the sanctions against Iran and its threats to block the Strait of Hormuz, Ramirez said OPEC, to which both countries belong, could not get involved in the issue.

"Any action that Iran takes in defense of its sovereignty is a matter of Iran," Ramirez said.

___

Associated Press writers George Jahn in Vienna, Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Gonzalo Solano in Quito, Ecuador, and Fabiola Sanchez in Caracas contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-01-10-LT-Latin-America-Iran/id-aa7a05de978a4e10936386e5de251dbd

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Thursday, January 12, 2012

Tibetans parade monk's remains

BEIJING, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Tibetans, angry at Chinese authorities over the self-immolation by one of their monks, paraded his remains on the streets in Qinghai province, witnesses said.

Earlier, the hundreds of protesting Tibetans had forced Chinese police to hand over the remains of 42-year-old Sopa, a respected monk who had killed himself Sunday in front of a police station in the western province's Darlag area, Radio Free Asia reported. Prior to dying, he had shouted slogans calling for Tibet's freedom and the long life of Tibet's spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, the network quoted witnesses as saying.

Sopa's death was the 15th Tibetan self-immolation since March of last year, Radio Free Asia said.

China has beefed up security in the Darlag area as there could be a memorial service for Sopa at his monastery.

"Only the head and chest parts [of the body] are intact, the rest were in pieces when Tibetans received the remains from the police," the report quoted a source as saying.

"These latest self-immolations confirm that what we are currently witnessing in Tibet is a sustained and profound rejection of the Chinese occupation," Free Tibet Director Stephanie Brigden said before Sunday's Darlag incident, the network said.

Source: http://dalje.com/en-world/tibetans-parade-monks-remains/407565

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Alphabet Of First Things In Canada [microform] _by_ Johnson, George, 1837-1911 Download YMP

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Source: www.truth-out.org --- Monday, January 09, 2012
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Source: http://www.truth-out.org/alphabet-first-things-canada-microform-johnson-george-1837-1911-download-ymp/1326107711

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Wednesday, January 11, 2012

FDA steps up testing for fungicide in orange juice

(AP) ? The Food and Drug Administration says it will step up testing for a fungicide that has been found in low levels in orange juice.

The agency said in a letter to the juice industry Monday that an unnamed juice company contacted FDA in late December and said it had detected low levels of carbendazim, a fungicide, in the company's own orange juice and also its competitors' juice. Carbendazim is not currently approved for use in the United States, but is used in Brazil, which exports orange juice to the United States.

There are no safety concerns at the levels detected, the FDA said, and the agency has no plans to pull orange juice off store shelves. FDA officials said testing will determine if levels are higher than previously thought.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-09-US-Orange-Juice-Fungicide/id-ec63d8158c64408abcb15ee093ed3b9a

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Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Syrian president gives defiant speech

Al-Assad addresses violence in Syria

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

  • NEW: SNC leader slams al-Assad's address
  • Al-Assad: No government department ordered to fire on people
  • A referendum over a new constitution will take place by March, he says
  • Al-Assad blames both Western and Arab elements for the unrest

Damascus, Syria (CNN) -- In a rare and defiant speech Tuesday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad blamed the unabated violence in his country on "external conspiracies," criticized the Arab League as toothless and said that the international call for reform wasn't taking into account what the country was really facing: terrorism.

While he did not explicitly point the finger at a particular country, al-Assad blamed the unrest on both Western and Arab elements as world pressure mounted on his embattled government for its 10-month-long crackdown against protesters.

"The mask has fallen off these faces," he said. "No wise person denies these international conspiracies that (are) being done in order to spread fear inside. But this time, it was done with people from inside."

Thousands have been reported killed by security forces throughout the uprising. Death estimates range from more than 5,000 to more than 6,000. The Syrian government has consistently blamed the violence on "terrorists" and al-Assad denied that he commanded forces to open fire on protesters.

"I would like to confirm that there were no orders by any departments of the state to fire on people," he said.

The speech drew scathing reaction from a prominent opposition leader. Burhan Ghalioun, the head of the Syrian National Council, said "the regime has not learned from this 10 months' problem" and called the address "worthless."

The U.N. Security Council is expected to meet for the first time this year to discuss the brutal and sustained government crackdown on anti-regime protesters.

The Security Council itself has been under pressure to act on the violence. While the U.N. has not acted on sanctions against Syria, international sanctions have been imposed or threatened on the regime and several entities want the International Criminal Court to investigate Syria.

As al-Assad delivered his lengthy address, more violence erupted across the country where 23 people were killed, according to the Local Coordination Committees of Syria, an opposition activist group.

Al-Assad said Syria has responded to the ongoing crisis with changes.

"(The) first law we passed is lifting emergency law. In a situation (like) Syria is facing, most countries would impose an emergency law. But we lifted it."

In addition a referendum over a new constitution will be held "within two months -- in March," he said.

The relationship between reform and the crisis, he said, was being "over-emphasized."

"What is the relationship between reform and the international plots? If we reform, would that stop their plans?" he asked. "If we reform, will that stop terrorism? Will a terrorist care if we change election law?"

The speech was noteworthy in not just what al-Assad said, but also in what he chose to leave out. He did not say he would pull tanks off the streets -- a concession that opposition activists had called for.

Al-Assad said his government had tried to talk with the opposition but "certain forces of the opposition ... want to enter into dialogue in secrecy."

Arab League officials are scrambling to end the bloodshed and have pledged to add to their 165 observers already in the country. The Arab League fact-finding mission in Syria is part of a larger initiative to end security forces' attacks on peaceful protesters.

But the group's mission has been met with skepticism from both pro-Assad supporters, who view the monitors as stooges for regime change, and anti-government activists, who see the observers as weak and ineffective.

Al-Assad reserved much of his criticism for Arab nations for not standing with Syria and for coming down on it for human rights abuses.

"Their situation is like that of a doctor who tells people not to smoke while he has a cigarette in his mouth," he said.

"We have been working for years to create an office to boycott Israel," he said, referring to the Arab League initiative toward Syria. "But in weeks they did it against Syria. Are they swapping Israel for Syria?"

Al-Assad said Syria cannot be removed from the Arab League because a body cannot "live without its heart."

The body had failed in "six decades of Arab policies," he said. "So why would it be of any use now?"

"Did the Arab League respect its own nations whose territory has been invaded or occupied? Have they prevented separation of Sudan, or stopped Sudan famine, or stopped the death of 1 million Iraqis, or re-planted any of the olive trees uprooted by Israel?"

Ghalioun emphasized that al-Assad has "refused the Arab working plan. What he believes is going on is a conspiracy as well as terror."

"For the first time, he accused the Arabs in this conspiracy," he said.

Al-Assad also accused some journalists of editing or fabricating his quotes.

"We have more than 60 televisions stations working against Syria," he said.

A CNN crew has been allowed into Syria after a long period of the Syrian regime refusing the entry of international journalists. The crew's equipment for live broadcasting was confiscated on arrival. And a government minder is assigned to the team, though he has not accompanied the team at every turn.

Since Arab Spring demonstrations swept the region early last year, protesters in Syria have demanded a country free of the al-Assad regime and true democratic elections. Al-Assad has been in power since 2000; his father, Hafez, ruled Syria for three decades.

CNN's Nic Robertson contributed to this report.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cnn/HmKZ/~3/WBmWX-mse7Y/index.html

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Butler embarrassed by wedding kilt flash

The 300 star performed a reading at his sibling's marriage ceremony and he accidentally diverted the attention away from the bride by revealing all.

He tells talk show host Graham Norton, "I wore a kilt in my sister's wedding in Paisley, Scotland and I had to go up and do a reading and my mother and family were in the front row.

"As you know in Scotland there's a certain rule to wear a kilt so I'm sitting like this (legs open) and everyone's leaning forward and my mum's looking at me and she's doing this (puts hands together) and I think she's telling me to pray... and then I realise everyone is staring right (at my crotch). So I (cross my legs)... It's always a disaster."

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Monday, January 9, 2012

O2 begins rolling out 'Europe's largest free WiFi network' in London this month

UK carrier O2 will be rolling out its ambitious free WiFi network this month, just in time to let the throngs of tourists update their Facebook statuses during the 2012 Olympic Games and Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee. The plan will cover London's Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea boroughs, creating Europe's largest free wireless network, according to O2. The deal, which the company adds will not be footed by the taxpayer, is part of a larger plan announced this time last year. Official information and lots of quotes from important sounding people after the break.

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Grisham gives positive brief on 'The Firm'

John Grisham is helping bring his book, "The Firm," to TV.

By Randee Dawn

Those who remember the 1993 film adaptation of John Grisham's thriller "The Firm" may remember Tom Cruise's beleaguered character Mitch McDeere doing a lot of running around and hiding out from his fellow lawyers and bosses -- who wanted to make sure he wasn't sharing his company's criminal activities with the Feds. He was, and it changed his life.

"The Firm" also changed the life of its author, John Grisham, who spoke with TODAY's Matt Lauer Friday about the upcoming TV series adaptation on NBC, with independent film vet Josh Lucas in the Cruise role. At first, Grisham told Lauer, he couldn't get a book deal for his novel, but someone bootlegged the manuscript and started passing it around Hollywood.

"The first phone call I got for 'The Firm' was in January of 1990 and my agent said, 'Hey, we just sold the film rights.' I said, 'What about the book rights?'" recalled the author.

Naturally, with a film in the making, a book contract was quickly forthcoming; now, "The Firm" is a TV series that picks up where the story left off. The McDeere family has been in witness protection for ten years, and wants to resume living a normal life. If they could, there wouldn't be much fodder for a series so ... things start to go wrong.

"I would not be here if I didn't like it," said Grisham, giving his stamp of approval on the book and calling Lucas "a movie star. This guy's got the presence, charisma, talent."

And he would know if a series isn't going to go well: His novel, "The Client," was made into a film in 1994 and a TV series that only ran for a season in 1995.

"I've had a bad experience on television," said Grisham. "'The Firm' is another story. This is going to be a hit."

The two-hour premiere of "The Firm" airs on NBC on Sunday, Jan. 8 at 9 p.m.

Legendary author John Grisham talks to TODAY's Matt Lauer the new TV series based on "The Firm," the book that helped launch his superstar author career.

Will you watch? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page!

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Source: http://theclicker.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/06/10004983-john-grisham-gives-a-positive-brief-on-new-series-the-firm

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Sunday, January 8, 2012

Saluting Canada's soldiers

Salute to Soldiers held at Barrie Legion

By Ian McInroy

Posted 2 hours ago

Cheyenne Hall has a personal connection with Canada's soldiers from the Great War and she shared her story during Salute to Soldiers, held at the Barrie Royal Canadian Legion Sunday afternoon.

Hosted by the Barrie and District Irish Claddagh Club, Salute to Soldiers was intended to highlight the importance of Canadian veterans of all conflicts and the sacrifices they have made.

Canadian Armed Forces Capt. Mehdi Imtiaz, of Innisfil, described his experiences after 33 years in the Canadian Armed forces, including tours in Afghanistan, the Sudan and others.

"As a serviceman, I appreciate what the Royal Canadian Legion does. It stands up for us," he said, adding that he is proud of what our troops accomplished in Afghanistan.

The country isn't necessarily perfect now that the Canadians have left, he said.

"Did (Canadians) make it a better place? Yes. You do what you can to help and that's all any of us can do."

Eastview Secondary School teacher and veterans expert Clint Lovell also spoke to the crowd.

Lovell is organizing another veterans-oriented trip to Europe ? Vimy 2012 ? from Apr. 4 to 12 and is inviting other area students interested in going to contact him.

The students and other Barrie and area residents will visit Anne Frank's house in Amsterdam and the nearby Vught concentration camp.

From there it's on to Flanders where the famous poem by John McCrae was written. Students will take part in a torch relay with the McCrae family. They will also visit Somme, where the Royal Newfoundland Regiment was wiped out.

They will get a first-hand look at Juno Beach and also take part in 95th anniversary services at the Vimy Ridge monument.

Eastview student Cheyenne Hall, 15, is travelling with the group in April.

She is keen on learning more about Canada's participation and contributions in the First World War.

"I want to trace my ancestors' footsteps and where they fought. It's important to know how you got here. They (all veterans) fought for your freedom," she said.

Hall read a poem written by her great grandfather, Corp John Clark, to a fallen friend and soldier during the First World War, one of thousands of men who gave their lives.

"It was a poem he wrote about Pvt. John Lee when he died in 1916," she said. Lee is buried in Belgium while Clark survived the war.

"They were best friends when they were growing up together in Scotland," she said. "Everybody (all the soldiers) had an important part to play."

Angie Chisholm, of the Irish Claddagh Club, was inspired to organize the event by her father-in-law Donald Chisholm, who was one of the first radar operators in the Second World War.

Canada is the great country it is because of the sacrifices veterans have made in conflicts around the world, she said.

"These are the people who have put their life on the line. And while they won't admit it, they are heroes."

imcinroy@thebarrieexaminer.com

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Source: http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3428986

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The 'CES curse?' Gadget show has poor record

FILE - In this Jan. 5, 2011 file photo, Microsoft chief executive officer Steve Ballmer gives his Keynote speech for the Consumer Electronics Show, in Las Vegas. The International Consumer Electronics Show is getting a track record as the launch pad for products that fall flat. The annual conclave kicks off next week in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 5, 2011 file photo, Microsoft chief executive officer Steve Ballmer gives his Keynote speech for the Consumer Electronics Show, in Las Vegas. The International Consumer Electronics Show is getting a track record as the launch pad for products that fall flat. The annual conclave kicks off next week in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 6, 2011 file photo, attendees watch a 3-D HDTV presentation by Panasonic at the Consumer Electronics Show, in Las Vegas. The International Consumer Electronics Show is getting a track record as the launch pad for products that fall flat. The annual conclave kicks off Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2012 in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson, File)

NEW YORK (AP) ? The largest trade show in the Americas must be a great place to show off new products, right? Wrong. The International Consumer Electronics Show is quickly becoming a launch pad for products that fall flat.

When the annual conclave kicks off next week, organizers expect more than 140,000 people ? roughly the population of Syracuse, N.Y. ? to descend on Las Vegas. They will mill around 1.8 million square feet of booths and exhibits, equivalent to 31 football fields.

The 2,800 or so exhibitors are hoping to set the tone for the year by showing off tons of tablet computers, throngs of 3-D TVs and untold numbers of slim, light laptops called ultrabooks.

But a look back at the products heavily promoted at CES in recent years reveals few successes.

? In 2009, "netbooks" ? tiny, cheap laptops ? were a hot category at the show. They did have a good year, but interest was already waning when Apple Inc. obliterated the category with the launch of the iPad in 2010.

Another big, eagerly awaited launch at the 2009 CES was Palm Inc.'s webOS software, running on a new generation of smartphones. Those devices debuted later that year to good reviews and dismal sales. A year later, Palm was sold to Hewlett-Packard Co., which killed the product line in 2011.

? In 2010, TV makers made a big push with 3-D sets, hoping to ride the popularity of 3-D movies such as "Avatar." Sales turned out to be disappointing as buyers balked at wearing glasses and found little to watch in 3-D. The technology isn't going away, but 3-D looks to be just another feature among many of today's high-end TVs.

Other manufacturers at that show hoped to ride the success of Amazon.com Inc.'s Kindle with their own e-readers. They failed, though Barnes & Noble Inc. made some inroads later in the year with its Nook. That rivalry played out away from CES.

? In 2011, there were more than 100 brands of tablet computers on display, all trying to ride the coattails of the iPad. Many of them didn't even make it to the market; those that did couldn't make a dent in Apple's market share.

Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet did start to crack Apple's hegemony late in the year, but it wasn't shown at CES.

Verizon Wireless got attention at the 2011 show with the first consumer devices to use its ultra-fast "4G LTE" data network. Although those did well over the year, the company upstaged itself by announcing, a week after the show, that it would start selling the iPhone.

A big part of the "curse" of the show is that the company that has been driving trends in the industry, Apple, doesn't show products there. It doesn't have a booth, and its executives don't give speeches. It hasn't had an official presence at all since the 90s, though some of its employees go.

It's not that Apple dislikes CES in particular. It just doesn't do trade shows. When it has something new to sell, it puts on its own press conference. That way, it can control everything.

Microsoft Corp. seems to be adopting the same strategy. It revealed last month that the 2012 show will be the last one that its CEO will kick off with a keynote speech. That ends a run of 15 straight years. It's also the last time Microsoft has a booth at the show.

The problem with the show's timing will be acute for Microsoft this year. A new version of Windows won't be ready until the fall. In his keynote speech Monday evening, CEO Steve Ballmer can, at best, show very raw prototypes of the products that will run Windows 8.

What's left in the show booths are companies that don't quite have the clout or money to draw people to their own events, plus ones that put out new products at a reliable annual pace, such as TV and car makers.

The Consumer Electronics Association, an industry trade group, has organized the show since 1967. Its president, Gary Shapiro, disputes the idea that it's losing relevance.

"Nearly every consumer electronics innovation in the history of our industry was unveiled at CES," he said.

Among recent product successes revealed at CES, he mentions Samsung's Flex-Duo smart oven, Eye-Fi's memory cards that upload photos wirelessly, GM's OnStar service, Parrot's AR remote-control flying drone, Microsoft's Kinect Avatar, Samsung's LED TVs, Sonos' wireless music system and Corning's Gorilla Glass for smartphones.

"With some 20,000 products introduced at each show, many can and should be failures. That is the American way," Shapiro said.

And besides, attendance is up. The show is set for its third year of growth from the recession-stripped nadir of 2009 and could touch the record numbers hit in 2006.

That matters because the attendees are all industry people. Consumers aren't allowed in. Having everyone who matters in Vegas for a couple of days in the year makes it easy to set up face-to-face meetings that would take weeks to organize otherwise. In that context, it matters less that the show hasn't been a great staging ground for new products.

"I'm pretty comfortable that we're the most important event for technology in the world," Shapiro said. "It's difficult to come out with someone really important who's not there."

Apple CEO Tim Cook's absence may make him the exception. His predecessor, Steve Jobs, was certainly never caught loitering on the show floor. But the company contingent will probably be strong. Last year, the Apple's retail store division alone sent 159 people, according to the CEA.

So what potential flops will be hyped at the show this year?

? Windows 8 will be an important new product in 2012, but the late-year launch means PC and tablet makers hoping for a CES boost have to wait.

The new operating system is built for touch screens, the kind made popular by iPhones and iPads. Windows 8 will also run on cellphone-style processing chips, the type used in most tablets. That should improve battery life considerably over the PC-type chips that Windows runs on today. However, many analysts believe Microsoft has already lost this market to Apple.

? As a stopgap, PC makers will show off ultrabooks. They're essentially Windows versions of the MacBook Air laptop, which uses chips instead of a spinning hard drive for storage. That makes the machines lighter and thinner but also more expensive. Expectations for ultrabooks are modest ? Gary Balter at Credit Suisse believes they could make up 10 percent of laptops sales this year.

? Having failed to catch the iPad wave last year with $500 tablets, some tablet makers will try to catch the Kindle Fire wave with smaller, cheaper tablets. But the profit margins are tiny at that price, so bigger Asian manufacturers are setting their sights on the tablet version of Windows 8, hoping it will provide them better opportunities, said Rhoda Alexander, an analyst at IHS iSuppli.

? TV makers will be talking about "smart," Internet-connected sets, but they're not exactly new.

However, we'll see the first full-size TVs that use organic light-emitting diodes in place of LCDs. LG Electronics has confirmed that it will be showing off a 55-inch set, to be sold late in the year. The price hasn't been disclosed, but is likely to be high. OLED sets can be painfully thin ? in LG's case, less than a third of an inch ? and should boast improved image quality as well.

We'll also see TVs that are "smart" in the sense that they respond to gestures or spoken commands. However, until cable set-top boxes get smart, too, we won't be able to abandon remotes.

Paul Gagnon, an analyst at DisplaySearch, said TV manufacturers are trying to get ahead of Apple. He and other analysts believe the company is working on a TV set that could be introduced this year. Some speculate that "Siri," the voice-control application in the latest iPhone, is a dry run for a voice-controlled TV.

Apple hasn't commented on the speculation. It has agreements with Hollywood studios for sales and rentals of movies through iTunes, but to create a TV that's unmistakably "Apple," it would likely require broader agreements with content providers, such as rights to stream live TV. Even Apple might not be able to challenge the content industry's way of business.

"They've been able to break down those digital barriers with music and other applications, but TV is going to be one of the tougher areas," Gagnon said.

In other words, an Apple TV could be an expensive flop. Staying away from CES is no guarantee for success.

___

Peter Svensson can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/petersvensson

___

Online:

http://cesweb.org

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2012-01-06-Gadget%20Show/id-c79c78fd346a4f57a0c030ad2b58f32b

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Saturday, January 7, 2012

Defending Snooki ... no, really!

Noel Vasquez / Getty Images Contributor

Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi isn't really so bad.

By Ree Hines

The fifth season of "Jersey Shore" kicks off Jan. 5, and that means it's time for all the usual Seaside Heights fun, including hookups, fights and alcohol-filled parties ? most, if not all, of which will revolve around Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, otherwise known as the unofficial star of the show.

That also means many viewers and even more non-viewers will resume their seasonal pastime of Snooki-bashing, which seems to involve criticizing the Princess of Poughkeepsie for almost every mundane move and outrageous act that she makes.

But why?

OK, sure. She can't hold her liquor, as evidenced by her boozy beach arrest in season three, repeated "kooka" flashings and nearly every fight she's ever had with her boyfriend, Jionni. And, yes, she's used the house minifridge to cool her itchy backside alongside the Cheez-its and Red Bull when a new tanning cream left her a little rashy. And it's true that even outside of "Shore" she's given dieting advice that's included drinking vodka and recommended kitty litter as a beauty product. But then again, aren't some of these things what make Snooki so great?

Great? Yeah, great. Well, not the public drunkenness maybe, but the general over-the-top behavior is part of?what makes Snooki worth watching. She's like a cartoon character come to life, ready to do and say what most others won't and probably shouldn't. It's part of her appeal, and it's part of why she's worth defending against her many detractors.

Besides, Snooki's appeal goes far beyond her diminutive, do-anything routine. Those who look past some of her embarrassing habits might just notice her winning qualities, such as the fact she's a loyal friend to the women in her life (minus the occasional Sammi mess and that whole thing with Angelina, but hey, they had it coming) and she won't let anyone tear her down.

The latter might just make up her best quality. See, despite all the requisite bashing, for the most part, Snooki takes it in stride. She doesn't get overly mad or offended. She refuses to be shamed for her behavior. And if a swipe is crafted with a sense of humor, she even seems to appreciate it. ??

If there's a Snooki-related joke to be made, she's either making it or she's among those laughing the loudest.

Heck, when Bobby Moynihan repeatedly poked fun?at her on "Saturday Night Live," she didn't simply approve of the send-up. She teamed up with him for some dueling-Snookis action on MTV.

And when South Park portrayed the "Shore" star as a rusty colored, hunched-back, whiskered beast who creeped around in constant pursuit of "smoosh-smoosh," she took it as a sign of her success.

"Snooki want smoosh smoosh," she tweetedthe night the episode aired. "I'm going to have nightmares tonight. lmao!!! We've officially made it. Goodnite my b----es ?"

That's an indomitable spirit, and it's all too rare in real life or reality TV.

See the latest from Snooki and the rest of the Seaside Heights gang when "Jersey Shore" returns to MTV Thursday, Jan. 5., at 10 p.m.

What do you think is the dumbest/funniest thing Snooki has ever done? Sound off on our Facebook page.

Is she worth defending?

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Source: http://theclicker.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/03/9927771-defending-snooki-no-really

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APNewsBreak: Ex-Mexico president claims immunity (AP)

HARTFORD, Conn. ? Former Mexico President Ernesto Zedillo claims in court documents filed Friday that his status as a former national leader gives him immunity from a lawsuit filed in Connecticut over the 1997 killings of 45 people in a Mexican village.

Zedillo's attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Hartford. A copy of the motion was obtained by The Associated Press.

Zedillo, now an international studies professor at Yale University, also denied the allegations that he bears responsibility for the massacre by paramilitary groups in Acteal, in the southern state of Chiapas, and that he tried to cover up the killings.

Ten unnamed plaintiffs sued Zedillo in September accusing him of crimes against humanity. They are seeking $50 million in damages.

"The plaintiffs' lawsuit against President Zedillo amounts to no more than a misguided effort to impugn the reputation of someone widely regarded by international leaders and scholars as the architect of historic reforms that led Mexico into a new dawn of electoral freedom, respect for human rights, and a flourishing economy," Zedillo's motion says.

"Those who disagree cannot use this court as a vehicle for political revenge," the document says. "The law of sovereign immunity is designed to protect the leaders of our allies from the indignity and expense of defending against just such attacks."

Zedillo was president of Mexico from 1994 to 2000.

A lawyer for the plaintiffs said Friday that Zedillo's claims are false.

"Mr. Zedillo has not been the head of the Mexican government for a number of years and his immunity expired a year after he left office," attorney Roger Kobert said.

Kobert said he was still reviewing the more than 190 pages of documents filed by Zedillo's lawyers on Friday.

The massacre in Acteal on Dec. 22, 1997, was the worst instance of violence during a conflict that began when the Zapatista movement staged a brief armed uprising in early 1994 to demand more rights for Indians in Chiapas.

Paramilitaries with alleged government ties attacked Roman Catholic activists who sympathized with the rebels during a prayer meeting in Acteal. The assailants killed 45 people over several hours, including children as young as 2 months old.

After the killings, Zedillo denounced them as criminal and urged government and human rights officials to investigate.

The plaintiffs' lawsuit, however, alleges that Zedillo's administration ended peace talks with the Zapatistas and launched a plan to arm and train local militias to fight against them. It also claims Zedillo was aware of the actions in Acteal, covered them up and broke international human rights laws under the Geneva Conventions as well as a host of other laws.

The lawsuit says Zedillo "knew or should have known that his subordinates were committing human rights abuses, and he failed to prevent the abuses or punish those responsible."

Lawyers for the plaintiffs, who included people injured in the attack and relatives of some of the dead, have said their clients don't want their names revealed because they fear for their safety.

Sixty people convicted in the massacre have been freed after judges found irregularities in their prosecutions. Thirty-five convicts remain in prison.

Zedillo's lawyers say they have no knowledge of the U.S. ever rejecting a former head of state's claim for immunity from a lawsuit involving official acts.

State Department officials have been asked to issue an opinion on whether they believe Zedillo has immunity from the lawsuit. Once agency officials issue an opinion or announce they've declined to review the matter, the plaintiffs are then expected to file documents opposing the motion to dismiss.

Zedillo's lawyers said a quick dismissal of the case is vital.

"So long as this case remains on the docket, nations around the world will appropriately question whether their former heads of state can travel to the United States without being forced to defend official actions they took in their own countries," the motion to dismiss says.

"In return, foreign governments and foreign courts may doubt the U.S. commitment to reciprocity on immunity, leaving our own nation's former officials ? including our former presidents ? stripped of the assurance of immunity that they ordinarily enjoy in foreign nations," it says.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mexico/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120106/ap_on_re_us/us_mexico_massacre_zedillo

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Friday, January 6, 2012

Yearly roundup of world currencies: The yen, the rupee, and everything in between

How 14 of the world's largest currencies fared against the dollar in 2011.

It has become something of an annual tradition at this blog to summarize the yearly movement of a number of important currencies. This year, most currencies didn't change very dramatically against the U.S. dollar for the year as a whole. 5 currencies rose, three of which (the Australian and New Zealand dollars and the U.K. pound) only marginally. Only the yen and the yuan rose significantly, but far from dramatically. The other fell, but it was only the Brazilian real and the Indian rupee that did so in a really significant way.

Skip to next paragraph Stefan Karlsson

Stefan is an economist currently working in Sweden.

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It should however be noted that this yearly change masks more dramatic intra-year changes, as the U.S. dollar fell, driven by QE2, against almost all other currencies and usually significantly so during the first half. During the second half, it rebounded as QE2 ended and as the dollar's "safe haven" status during the European debt crisis increased demand for it.

Yen:+6.1%
Yuan: +4.9%
New Zealand dollar: +1.5%
Australian dollar: +1.3%
U.K. pound:+0.9%
Swiss franc: -0.1%
Singapore dollar:-0.5%
Norwegian krone: -1.3%
Canadian dollar: -1.6%
Swedish krona: -1.7%
Euro: -2.3%
South Korean won:-2.4%
Brazilian real: -10.7%
Indian rupee: -15.5%

The Christian Science Monitor has assembled a diverse group of the best economy-related bloggers out there. Our guest bloggers are not employed or directed by the Monitor and the views expressed are the bloggers' own, as is responsibility for the content of their blogs. To contact us about a blogger, click here. This post originally ran on stefanmikarlsson.blogspot.com.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/Rh1vAtxqMW0/Yearly-roundup-of-world-currencies-The-yen-the-rupee-and-everything-in-between

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The Kid Is Amazing (Balloon Juice)

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Thursday, January 5, 2012

AmbassadorRoos: Congrats to Sir David Warren, UK Ambassador to Japan, knighted for his work post-3/11. Honored to work with him. http://t.co/HuPuUj3K

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Congrats to Sir David Warren, UK Ambassador to Japan, knighted for his work post-3/11. Honored to work with him. goo.gl/1PKYf AmbassadorRoos

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Wednesday, January 4, 2012

With Depression, Helping Others May in Turn Help You (HealthDay)

MONDAY, Jan. 2 (HealthDay News) -- Doing something nice for someone else often leaves people feeling good about themselves and positive about their place in the world.

But does that mean practicing random acts of kindness has scientifically proven therapeutic value in treating mood disorders like depression?

Yes, according to a growing body of research that has found that "positive activity interventions" -- like helping someone with groceries, writing a thank you note or even counting your blessings -- can serve as an effective, low-cost treatment for depression.

"They seem really trivial. They seem like, what's the big deal, you feel good for 10 minutes," said Sonja Lyubomirsky, a psychology professor at the University of California, Riverside, who co-authored a recent paper on the topic. "But for a depressed person, they aren't trivial at all. Depressed individuals need to increase positive emotions in their life, even a minute here and there."

After a rigorous review of research on the therapeutic benefits of positive emotion, Lyubomirsky said, she and her colleagues found widespread support for the notion that people with a tendency toward depression can help themselves by helping others or otherwise introducing positivity into their day-to-day lives.

Such a simple, low-cost path to well-being could have big-time implications, given that more than 100 million people worldwide suffer with depression, according to Lyubomirsky's study. That includes more than 16 million U.S. adults, of whom about 70 percent of reported cases either do not receive enough treatment or do not get treated at all.

Positive activity interventions come in a variety of forms, including:

  • Being kind to others
  • Expressing gratitude
  • Thinking optimistically
  • Meditating on the good things in life

"The major aspect is the positive emotion," Lyubomirsky said. "The most significant feature of depression is the absence of positive emotion -- just a feeling of nothing, of emptiness."

Not only can being positive improve your mood, it can develop into a self-sustaining "upward spiral," she said.

"You might be more approachable to others, or be more creative and imaginative," Lyubomirsky said. "It snowballs, and you are more likely to experience even more positive emotion." For example, your boss might be more likely to compliment you if you are happy in your work, or your husband or wife might be friendlier after an act of kindness.

Dr. Michelle Riba, former president of the American Psychiatric Association, a psychiatry professor and associate director of the Depression Center at the University of Michigan, agreed that positivity can have a dramatic effect on people's psychological well-being.

"There's a lot of good research that shows these kinds of actions can have a positive impact on life," Riba said. "In general, people who help others stop focusing on their own pains and problems and worries and feel good about themselves."

And perhaps the best thing about it is that people can pursue these positive actions on their own.

"They are simple," Lyubomirsky said. "They don't involve going to a doctor. They aren't a substitute, but they are a great alternative or addition to therapy or medication."

Researchers are still assessing the best ways to pursue and implement positive thought and action to help treat depression, Lyubomirsky and Riba said.

For now, those who want to improve their mood through positivity need to figure out what works best for them through trial and error. This may include thinking long and hard about the best ways they can help others and reminding themselves of the good things in their own lives.

"You have to do work," Lyubomirsky said. "It takes effort to continually remind yourself to do acts of kindness for others, although I think it gets easier over time."

It's also important, she said, to vary your activities, lest you fall into a rut.

"You want to do them in optimal ways," Lyubomirsky said. "You want to vary what you do. You don't want to do the same thing every day. You want to do them at a rate that's optimal to you."

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Mental Health has more on depression.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/diseases/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20120103/hl_hsn/withdepressionhelpingothersmayinturnhelpyou

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